Gene
Awakuni, vice president for student services at
Columbia University, has been named Stanford's vice
provost for student affairs, President John Hennessy
announced Friday.

"I
am delighted that Gene Awakuni has accepted our offer
to become Stanford's next vice provost for student
affairs," Hennessy said. "Gene brings an
extraordinary combination of intelligence, academic
credentials and breadth of experience to the job. He
is considered a national leader in the area of
student affairs and has earned the deep respect of
undergraduates, graduate students and professional
colleagues with whom he has worked."

The
appointment is effective Jan. 2.

Awakuni
has specialized in student affairs since 1988, when
he became special assistant to the vice chancellor
for student affairs at the University of California,
Irvine. His responsibilities grew when he was
recruited to the University of California, Santa
Barbara, and then to California State Polytechnic
University, where he served as vice president for
student affairs. At Cal Poly, Awakuni estimates he
helped the university garner $10 million in grants
for causes that ranged from drug and alcohol
prevention to AmeriCorps Volunteer Services.

In July
2000, Awakuni was recruited to Columbia. He believes
his responsibilities at Stanford will be similar to
those he held at Columbia, where he has a base budget
of about $50 million and oversees 500 employees.

"It
was clear to the search committee that Gene has both
the vision to think creatively about student life as
well as the strategic skills to consolidate
Stanford's strengths and implement initiatives that
reflect his vision," Hennessy said. "The
provost and I look forward to working with Gene in
this area of critical importance to the
university."

The
search for a vice provost for student affairs began
last spring, after James Montoya announced he would
leave Stanford to serve as vice president of the
College Board.

Vice
Provost for Undergraduate Education John Bravman has
been serving in the position on an interim basis.
Bravman will continue in that capacity until Awakuni
comes on board in January.

The
search committee, which Bravman chaired, sifted
through more than 50 applicants, eventually narrowing
the field to five finalists.

In
addition to Bravman, committee members included Alan
Acosta, director of university communications; Cheri
Ross, associate director of the Introduction to the
Humanities program; Robin Mamlet, dean of admission
and financial aid; Karen Cook, the Ray Lyman Wilbur
Professor of Sociology; John Perry, the Henry
Waldgrave Stuart Professor of Philosophy; Denis
Phillips, professor of education; LaDoris Cordell,
vice provost and special counselor to the president
for campus relations; Jennifer Westerlind, associate
university counsel; Scotty McLennan, dean for
religious life; Tim Warner, vice provost for budget
and auxiliaries management; and students Charlene Ng,
a senior majoring in biology and history, and
Wendelin Wright, a doctoral candidate in materials
science and engineering.

"I
think he just kind of emerged from the pool as a very
strong candidate," Wright said. "It was
obvious to me that he has a sincere interest in
students and their well-being.

"We
were just very impressed with his ideas and the
experience he has had. He's obviously a talented
administrator and he already has a deep understanding
of some of the most difficult issues we face at
Stanford."

Among
those issues, she said, are housing and health care.
Currently, Awakuni is working on a student health
care plan at Columbia and a project to improve
primary care. While at U.C. Irvine in the 1980s, he
helped build one of the first residential education
programs in the country.

"I
think I have a good track record," he said,
explaining that he has overseen health and housing
services for the past eight years. "It's an area
that I know very well."

Awakuni
says his philosophy is "to provide the best
possible service to students." One way he has
helped identify students' needs is through the
classroom setting, where he occasionally teaches
courses on psychology and multiculturalism. He just
co-authored a book on the subject entitled Resistance
to Multiculturalism: Issues and Interventions.

"I
feel like being in a classroom helps me understand
the students from a different vantage point," he
explained.

Awakuni
said a background in multiculturalism also helps
enhance the work he does. He got started in
administrative work while a psychologist at U.C.
Irvine, where he helped calm racial tensions through
conflict mediation. He holds an Ed. D and an Ed. M in
counseling and consulting psychology from Harvard
University, as well as a M.S.W. in clinical social
work and a B.A. in political science from the
University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Awakuni
said he is looking forward to helping shape new
projects at Stanford, such as the career center and
the health services building.

"As
I walked onto the campus, I was just amazed," he
said. "I'll get to work with the best and the
brightest students from all over the world. Stanford
is an extraordinary place."